EIGHT of Northern Ireland's prominent lawyers began a legal battle yesterday over a £350,000 cut in the fees they earned in a murder trial.
The QCs and their juniors were awarded about £880,000 by a legal aid committee. But the amount was cut to about £530,000 by the Taxing Master, Mr Christopher Napier. His figures are being appealed, the first time Northern barristers have done so.
The QCs are Mr Charles Adair, Mr Terence McDonald, Mr Anthony Cinnamond, Mr Terence Mooney, Mr Richard McLaughlin and Mr Reginald Weir. The junior barristers are Mr John Larkin, Mr Peter Irvine, Mr Norman Hill, Mr James Allister, Mr Paddy O'Hanlon and Mr Charles MacCreanor.
The fees dispute followed the eight month Ann Marie Smyth trial in 1994, the longest Northern murder trial, which ended with five men getting life sentences for the sectarian murder. The respondent in the appeal before Lord Justice Carswell in the High Court in Belfast is the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay, the minister who funds the legal aid system.
Mr James McSparran QC said the Taxing Master's assessments had been coloured by a number of misconceptions, particularly "unjustified" remarks about the Bar Council.
Mr Peter Birts QC said the Taxing Master's reviewing role was a limited one, and the fees assessed by the committee should be regarded as a "weighty" indication of what was fair remuneration.
Arguing that the Taxing Master had erred in law, Mr Birts said the court had power to increase the fees allowed.
The appeal continues today.